Thought for the week:
If you don’t enjoy what you have, how could you be happier with more? –Unknown
From Real Age
Replace temptations. Piling up holiday “goodies” (think pumpkin pie, cookies, and fudge) in plain sight can prompt you to eat twice as much, twice as fast. Instead, keep alternate goodies, such as walnuts, pistachios, cinnamon-spice tea, juicy oranges, and ruby-red pomegranates, within easy reach. For your holiday table, try tossing together this recipe from EatingWell: Winter Salad with Roasted Squash & Pomegranate Vinaigrette.
Don’t skip exercise. Just make it short and sweet. Sticking with your routine during the busy holidays can be tougher than finding a radio station not playing Jingle Bells. Go for three 10-minute walks each day for a total of 30 minutes, and you’re good. Too cold out for a walk? Use this home-workout video to walk inside, where it’s warm.
Choose libations wisely. Beer and red wine both raise your appetite-triggering hormones — a sure-fire prompt for a return trip to the holiday buffet table. Choose a chardonnay or Riesling instead. These white wines didn’t have the same hunger-boosting effect in one study.
Use buffet-table strategies. You’re less likely to inhale hearty helpings from every dish if you check out the entire spread first. We call it “eye your pie before you try.” Stake out a seat where you can’t see the feast, and choose only one or two specialties (Uncle Eddie’s meatballs or Aunt Edna’s spinach dip, for example) instead of three or four. You eat more calories when you have more choices.
Practice moderation, not deprivation. Splurge a little at parties, but eat sensibly the rest of the week. Get the skim-milk latte at your coffee shop, not the fancy holiday-spice coffee drink. Tote fruit and nuts or veggies and hummus to work for snacks, so it’s easy to bypass the latest cookie mountain in the break room. Check out 10 new 100-calorie holiday cookie recipes from EatingWell.
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Can’t decide whether to order wine with dinner? Here’s a little tidbit to help you make up your mind: Deciding “yes” might protect you from dementia down the road.
A review of the findings suggests older adults who indulge in a daily glass (one if you’re a woman, two if you’re a man) of their favorite alcoholic beverage (wine, beer, or cocktails) are significantly less likely to develop age-related cognitive decline or dementia compared to folks who don’t drink at all.
Booze for the Brain
How does imbibing do this? Researchers think the daily habit may protect against inflammation-inducing proteins in the brain, including B-amyloid — a toxic protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease. Other findings suggest that moderate drinking can boost cerebral blood flow by dilating vessels in the brain. One part of alcohol’s brain-protective equation: It’s thought that moderate social drinking may have a cumulative effect over many years in reducing the long-term risk of age-related cognitive decline. (Related: Have your eyes checked to stave off Alzheimer’s disease.)
Think It Through
A word of caution: Some people are more prone to alcoholism than others, so if the disease runs in your family, or you’ve had a spot or two of binge drinking in the past, consider adopting alternative strategies to keep your noggin’ humming along. A light drinking habit that turns into a heavy one can damage, rather than protect, your brain. Check out these additional brain-shielding strategies:
- Feed your brain. Add these EatingWell meals to your better-brain diet.
- Take it for a walk. Walk a mile a day to keep brain shrinkage at bay.
- Let it wander. Learn why daydreaming actually does a mind good.
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